Mike de Leon was born in 1947 in Manila. He is the son of producer Manuel de Leon and the grandson of Narcisa de Leon, founder of LVN Studios, which produced most of the Filipino films between 1930 and 1960. Mike De Leon produced Lino Brocka's Manila (1975). In 1978, his first feature film Itim won the Best Picture award in Sydney. Kisapmata and Batch '81 both had their world premieres at Cannes in 1982, making Mike de Leon the second filmmaker to have two works presented at the festival in the same year. He contributes to the restoration and distribution of old films while continuing to direct.